You were fast asleep when you felt a really strong pain in your abdomen.
You wondered what was going on, but the pain faded and you fell asleep again.
However, the same pain returns and wakes you again.
You now know for sure that it is time and promptly wake the new daddy up
and let him know the baby is on the way!
He jumps up, grabs your bags, and off you both go to the hospital.
You get there and the doctor confirms what you already know: you are in labor!
Now that you are there, what does that mean?
What should you expect?
What happens right after your baby gets here?
Remain calm and let's become familiar with some of the common terms associated with childbirth.
One of the first terms become acquainted with is labor.
This means that you are experiencing uterine contractions that will help to open
the cervix so your baby can be born.
Labor contractions will occur in set intervals and will increase in strength
and length as your labor progresses.
Labor starts with contractions and ends when your cervix fully dilates to 10 cm.
Now that everyone is clear that labor has started, the doctor will want to know what's going on with the baby.
Fetal monitoring will be set up to check the heart rate of the fetus.
The monitor should record a steady heart rhythm and rate.
If it changes or stops, the doctor will know that your baby is experiencing distress
during the process of labor.
You are now fully dilated and the moment you have been waiting for is here.
It is time for delivery, or the birth of your baby.
You are ready to start pushing.
After many forceful pushes, parturition occurs.
Meaning, the act of giving birth.
Your baby will undergo a quick evaluation to screen for birth defects called the APGAR evaluation.
During this evaluation, the skin color, reflexes, breathing, heart rate, and activity levels will be scored.
A minimum score of seven is needed for your baby to be deemed healthy.
The APGAR evaluation is done right after birth and again at five minutes after birth.
Your baby has passed the APGAR evaluation and is now handed to you to hold for the first time.
You are finally now face-to-face with your neonate, or newborn baby.
One thing that you may notice about your baby's appearance is that there is a whitish,
fatty coating on the skin called vernix.
Vernix is secreted by your baby's oil glands during the last trimester of pregnancy in
order to protect the skin.
Once you have given birth, you enter what is known as postpartum.
This is the six weeks following giving birth.
There are many changes inside and outside of your body that will take place during this time period.
One thing that will start happening is that your body will begin to get back
to what it looked like before you got pregnant.
This especially happens inside the body.
Puerperium refers to the six weeks during which your reproductive organs get back to pre-pregnancy state.
The main thing occurring during puerperium is uterine involution, which is when your
uterus returns to the size and position it was in before pregnancy.
Your baby's place of residence in your body was your uterus, so it stretched tremendously
during the previous nine months.
There is a vaginal discharge during puerperium that you may notice called lochia.
It is released as your uterus is getting back in shape.
Your doctor will look at the lochia as one of the ways of measuring if your body is returning to normal.
Lactation becomes possible once you give birth.
This is milk production.
This occurs whether you decide to breastfeed or not.
If you do breastfeed, then your baby will receive a nutrient- and antibody-rich foremilk called colostrum.
Colostrum develops in the breasts in late pregnancy and will nourish your newborn in
the first few days before your body produces regular breastmilk.
Something that you may or may not experience is depression during the first six weeks
after giving birth known as postpartum depression.
Some women may experience this because there are many hormonal changes
that are happening in your body following giving birth as well.
If you feel symptoms of depression such as atypically negative thoughts, lack of
appetite, or lack of interest in your baby, make sure you talk to a family member or your doctor.
So far, we've discussed what is going on with you, but what about what is going on with
your beautiful baby after birth?
Aside from getting to know your baby, you will likely realize when your bundle of joy passes meconium.
This is the viscous liquid, dark green first feces released.
Don't worry, his or her feces won't always look and smell so strange.
Soon, you will see normal poopy diapers!
We have covered some of the terms that you should be familiar with in regards to childbirth.
The terms we discussed are:
* Labor - which are uterine contractions to open the cervix
* Fetal monitoring - which is monitoring of the fetal heart rate
* Delivery - the birth of a baby
* Parturition - the act of giving birth
* APGAR evaluation - screening of a newborn's activity level, skin color, reflexes, breathing, and heart rate
* Neonate - newborn * Vernix - whitish, fatty coating on a newborn's skin
* Postpartum - the six weeks immediately after giving birth
* Puerperium - the six weeks of changes in the body to get back to pre-pregnancy state
* Uterine involution - the process of the uterus returning to its former size and position
* Lochia - vaginal discharge during puerperium * Lactation - milk production
* Colostrum - foremilk that contains nutrients and antibodies
* Postpartum depression - depression during the six weeks following giving birth
* Meconium - viscous, liquid dark green first feces